Master & Sessions 1953-1955 (Vinyl version)

By ElvisNews.com/ Lex, Dec 19, 2016

A couple of weeks after the CD/book combination Memphis Recording Service released the vinyl version.

Design

The idea behind the cover is very tasteful, but personally I would have used a real black/white photo. Now you see a weird border when the picture flows into the background. Another solution might have been to make the background not solid black, but the darkest color of the picture. The inside of the album shows a large photo of Elvis, Scotty and Bill, bordered by all labels of singles and 78 RPMs and some other memorabilia. The back has a colorized picture of Elvis and the MRS-window, besides the track listing.

As extra there is an inlay with at one side a part of an article in the Memphis Press Scimitar form Feb 5, 1955 and the other side has two classic promo shots from the time.

Content

The grouping of the tracks is pretty logical: singles and masters on the first two sides. Especially keeping the singles together makes side A extremely strong. Side C has the personal recordings, the trial sessions and the Radio acetates. Side D contains outtakes.

Conclusion

Of course nothing new here, but the presentation is lovely and the sound cannot be better.